Three Weddings and a Knife Fight
by Aya Rose
Summary: Wedding 1 Karen leaves town, Maria threatens to wear something red, Parents go missing, and Popuri swings that way. ff at some point.


**There will be Homosexual based plots.**

This is not a maybe situation. Do not think this will change if you flame hard enough. I do not care, I do not have to care. Read something else.

**This is not porn.**

Really, what's the good taste in wasting time on porn when you could be doing angst? Really now, even a good PWP doesn't have porn in it. So no grunting or thrusting, promise.

**This is the beginning:

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"Gray, you listen to me right now, or I'll gut your worthless corpse like a fucking fish." The young housewife and librarian growled, her skin still flush from childbirth just hours before, as she wedged the larger man's arm up behind his back, the silver sheen of a knife in her small hand pressed to the white skin of his neck, it's sharpened edge drawing a thin red line against his throat. "You get off of Popuri's case, or they'll be lucky to find your body with in the next few weeks." Maria's voice was laced with more promise then idle threat. "She's not having a nice time right now, and you definitely aren't making it any easier. If you comprehend, please nod twice right now."

Wait a second...

This probably isn't the best place to start such a story.

It would be best to start at the beginning, but in such a small town, it's hard to tell where that might be.

It's important to note that in the beginning, there were five girls. They were in balance and everything was happy. Ann, the tomboy, lived at the Green Ranch, and spent most of her time tending to animals with and for her family. Occasionally she would have to come into town for supplies, but for the most part, her friend's were the animals she worked with.

Elli worked for the bakery with her family. Up early in the morning, spending entire days baking, she learned to manage her time very carefully. Right down to scheduling her free time. So she was usually not available, at least most of the time.

Karen was a wild child when she was younger. Running, screaming, and jumping, most of her time was split between her home in the vineyard, and nights working at the bar for additional spending money. Of course, the fact she could out drink most of the town's men by the age of 13 was a little surprising, but something no one was too worried about.

Maria was sweet, but a really just a homebody. Indoors was where she was the most effective overall. Helping the teacher in school or helping out in the library, things like that just came naturally to her.

And last was Popuri. She lived and worked in the flower shop with her eccentric parents, and had a bright and open personality, even despite her father being gone more often then not.

All five grew up together, but with Elli and Ann so work oriented, only Maria, Karen, and Popuri became what could be called the best of friends. With Popuri having free time often when the shop wasn't busy, she would travel between Karen and Maria, delivering information, and simply enjoying their company as they grew up.

Children become teenagers, and teenagers become adults, as nature is prone to do. A stranger named Jack moved into town, causing havoc and chaos in the sleepy little village. He married Maria, and encouraged Karen to go off and find her fortune in The Big City.

Which, if you're paying attention, caused minor problems in Popuri's social circle. Tiny ones at first, cracks at best, but slowly growing. Weakening the foundation of her happiness before Fate hit her full on, as Fate (much like Nature) is also prone to do.

(A Year and a Half Before Now)

She hung up the phone, still in partial shock, her hand unable to leave the phone even as she sat it back down on to the hook. Her sides were numb and her heart was pounding in her chest. What was suppose to be cut and dry, simply calling Karen to see if she was going to be at the bar tonight like she'd normally do on Tuesday, became just a part of a much larger ordeal.

Karen wasn't going to be at the bar tonight. Not tonight, not tomorrow, possibly not ever again.

She left. She left without telling her. She left town without telling anyone besides her parents. And Jack of course. But everything seemed to center around him for some reason.

Popuri was in shock. In the summer, business was in a normal lull. Popuri was left in the flower shop alone, as her mother had left to complete a few simple errands that afternoon. Because of this, she had no one to turn to, to even understand why she felt such a strange pain in her heart.

Speaking to Maria was right out. Jack had started buying a lot of Cabbage seeds, and that was the final nail in the coffin, the proof she needed to know her observations were correct. Cabbage was not profitable, a very picky about how it grew, and only one person in town really liked it. That's how she knew he was attempting to court Maria. And by the way she reacted around him, they would be a very happy couple.

She never really got along with Ann overly well, partially because she never understood the girl's obsession with animals. Plants were so much better in every way possible. And didn't need nearly as much cleaning after. Or smell as bad.

Of course, plants couldn't explain what to do right this moment. She was halfway between crying and screaming, and neither emotion made any sense. She had known, known very well actually, that Karen had been saving up money for years just so she could leave for the city, but she never thought...

Never thought that Karen's far off _Someday_, would ever become a _Today_.

It didn't make sense. One day, Karen is right there, practically a fixture of her life. The next she's gone like a breeze... It just wasn't right at all. It was like the universe was designed just to be cruel.

(One Year Before Now)

In the cold of winter, a wedding is a nice change of pace.

The designing, planning, color coordination usually falls on the Mother of the Bride, but Popuri felt the need to help. As the Maid of Honor she took it as her job to ensure quality from beginning to end.

In truth, she was simply trying to keep busy, as her father was late in returning from his travels and she did not want to break into borderline panic like her mother.

The flowers, the chapel, the food served, everything short of the cake itself, Popuri had some noticeable influence on. The wedding would go off without a hitch, and Maria and her husband could spend the rest of the winter snuggled up next to the fire.

Like two people in love should be.

She didn't like to think about it at the time, but she was watching the mailbox like a hawk. First and most importantly there could always be new information about her father. Second, a secret nagging part of her soul kept begging for a sign from Karen. A package, a letter, even a postcard. Something, anything. Even a severed finger from the mafia!

The same part wondered if this is what her mother went through when ever her father was late returning to town also.

Now that the ceremony was over, there was nothing left to do to distract her. The Chapel was cleaned, Newlyweds were off, Business was extremely slow. In a few days, her mother would leave to start looking for her father. Inventory was ordered, plants were growing in the greenhouse, and nothing needed overly special care. She was old enough to run the shop on her own, so her mother leaving wouldn't hurt the family too much, buther motherwould still be deeply missed.

Without the wedding to plan Popuri found herself looking out the window into the drifting snow often, deep in her heart knowing exactly who she was looking for at the time.

Though she was slightly ashamed at the fact she wasn't looking for her father like she should have been.


End file.
